The disclosures herein relate generally to information handling systems (IHS's) and more particularly to the recovery of IHS's from a reduced power mode while being remotely controlled.
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system (IHS) generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
IHS's can experience difficulties in powering back up after AC power is lost and then returns. Basic Input Output System (BIOS) software addresses this problem through an AC recovery feature. The AC recovery feature gives the user a level of control over the state to which the IHS will return when power is restored. For example, the user can set the BIOS such that 1) the IHS will always turn on when power is restored, or 2) the IHS will always be off when power is restored.
IHS's can be equipped with remote controls having functions such as power on/off, volume control, audio balance and other controls desirable for multimedia users. Such a remote control allows the user to conveniently control the IHS from some distance away. In one version, the remote control transmits an infrared (IR) signal to an IR receiver connected to a peripheral bus of the IHS. Pressing the on/off button of such a remote control can place the IHS in a reduced power suspend mode. However, if the IHS loses power while in suspend mode, the remote control can no longer wake up the IHS. This occurs because the power to the peripheral bus on which the IR receiver is connected is no longer present, provided the system is not set to restart on AC loss and the shutdown was caused by AC loss and not a user-shutdown. Thus, the IR receiver is inactive and can not detect a turn-on or resume command from the remote control.
One hardware solution for solving this problem is to add a separate microcontroller to work in conjunction with the IR receiver of the IHS. The IHS is configured such that power is always provided to the microcontroller and its IR receiver. Thus, whenever the IHS is supplied power, the microcontroller and its IR receiver stand ready to receive and process commands from the remote control. Unfortunately, such a hardware-based solution adds significant cost to the IHS. Also, IHS basic input output systems (BIOS) are known which include a feature to resume operation from power loss enough to enable a wake-on-LAN (WOL) function. However, this does not solve the problem at hand.
What is needed is a way to enable an IHS to respond to commands from a remote control after power has been lost and restored, or turned off by a user, without resorting to expensive additional hardware.